Navigating Ethical Consent in Humanitarian Settings: A Practical Framework

What happens when ethics and emergencies collide?

The urgency to save lives often conflicts with the slow, rigorous pace of traditional ethical protocols. In these high-stakes moments, we face a tough dilemma: how do we protect dignity and privacy - without sacrificing speed and support?

At Here I Am, we have been refining our consent perspectives and practices for over a decade. And we've changed.

We used to be consent purists - ‘Informed consent must be obtained, no matter what’.

But these days our consent perspective is more nuanced: It depends. On many factors - including the participant, the topic, the location, the urgency.

The six types of consent

Most of us are familiar with informed consent. But did you know there are broadly, 6 different consent options. Each designed to address different crisis scenarios:

1. Informed Consent: Individuals explicitly agree to share their data after understanding its use, risks, and benefits. When to Use: In low-urgency scenarios where there’s enough time to explain details to ensure your participants are genuinely informed.

2. Implied Consent (aka Legitimate Interest): Consent is assumed (vs obtained) when data use is crucial to save lives or deliver urgent interventions, including cases where aggregated data benefits justify its use. When to Use: In high-urgency, high-risk scenarios - such as using location data during disasters - where waiting could cost lives.

3. Collective Consent (aka Social License / Community Consent): Consent is obtained from community leaders or through ongoing stakeholder engagement, on behalf of wider groups - merging one-off approvals with sustained trust-building. When to Use: In culturally rooted contexts where decisions affect whole communities, ensuring both immediate approval and long-term legitimacy.

4. Proxy Consent: A legal guardian or representative consents on behalf of those unable to do so themselves, like children or incapacitated individuals. When to Use: When working with vulnerable populations to ensure their protection while facilitating essential services.

5. Broad Consent: A one-time, general consent for future, multi-purpose data use - underpinned by strong ethical safeguards and oversight. When to Use: In long-term research or multi-use scenarios where anonymised data supports broader goals.

6. Dynamic/Granular Consent: Allows individuals to adjust their consent preferences over time, offering detailed control over how their data is shared. When to Use: In digital platforms or apps where users can continuously tailor their data-sharing choices as situations evolve.

The Ethical Consent Matrix

With these choices, comes more complexity. To help us quickly decide which consent approach best fits the crisis scenario, we’ve mapped these six types against three key dimensions: urgency, risk, and complexity. Here’s our streamlined matrix:

Key Considerations for the Matrix in Action

• Balancing Ethics and Urgency: In life-or-death situations, accept that approaches like Implied Consent / Legitimate Interest might be the only viable option - but they demand rigorous safeguards to minimise harm.
• Whether consent is obtained or assumed, no matter the commitment we have made to the participant, always uphold the highest data protection and privacy standards.
• Embracing Cultural Nuance: In settings that value collective decision-making, Community Consent or Social License aren’t just ethical and efficient, they’re culturally essential. Engage local leaders to build the trust that makes these approaches work.
• Ensuring Transparency and Accountability: Regardless of the consent method, being crystal clear about data usage is non-negotiable. Ongoing dialogue and robust oversight are key to maintaining trust.
• Mitigating Risks Proactively: In high-risk scenarios, think about using anonymisation, encryption, and restricting data access to trusted parties. The goal is always to protect individuals, even when urgency forces us to act quickly.
• Iterative Engagement: Consent isn’t a one-time event. It’s a continuous process. Keep the conversation open, its often tricky but where possible, allow people to update their choices, and ensure that ethical considerations evolve alongside the crisis.

Conclusion: Navigating Ethics in the Real World

We operate in an increasingly complex world - where crises are escalating, resources are stretched, and ethical trade-offs are inevitable. When ethics and emergencies collide, the question is not whether to compromise, but how to navigate those compromises responsibly.

The Ethical Consent Matrix is designed as a practical tool to help us make informed, values-driven decisions in fast-moving humanitarian settings. It doesn’t eliminate difficult choices, but it ensures we approach them with clarity, accountability, and respect for those at the heart of the crisis.

Ethical consent is not a checkbox - it’s an ongoing dialogue. We’d love to hear how you tackle these challenges in your work. Share your thoughts with us at hello@hereiamstudio.com.

Let’s shape a more ethical, responsive approach together.